The Laws of Vice Versa
by eXSillie
Summary: They are considered two of the "worst" benders of their styles, they have no proper masters and lastly no real knowledge on their own bending styles. How could they possibly aid the Avatar? T for violence. Present episode time line. Canons to come later.
1. Chapter 1: Onslaught

**Sillie**: Hello folks! Welcome to eXSillie's very first fanfiction together! I'd like to make some quick notes. First of all, Xiu. It's hard to pronounce, I know, but out of all the butchered ways I've heard it said, I'd far prefer "Shiu" over anything else. 3 Kthxlavu.

Second, before anyone asks, the canon characters will appear. It may not be for a while, but they will. Promise. -Chu.-

Oh yeah, we don't own Avatar. . If we did, well. BOOK 5. BOOOOK. FIIIIIIVEEEE. -Breathes.-

**eX**- DAYA BITCHES. Yes, that's why it's rated T.

We also have this story posted up on Deviant Art, so no need to be alarmed, along with some of eX's sketches and drawings of the characters. Our name on dA is also exsillie.

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_We could smell the smoke far before the sight could actually be seen, the ashes falling around us from clouds tainted with tints of angry grays and reds. Though I knew exactly what to expect, something in me knew that Jae wouldn't believe it until she saw it with her own two eyes; it couldn't possibly be her village. Things like this happened to other villages, but never hers. They used to speak of them late at night in voices as soft as the ashes falling from the sky, saying "those poor people..." as they gazed into tea that would have never told of this future. They were never aware of how fortunate they truly were._

_Though I was well traveled and far more versed in the world of war than Jae was, the sight that confronted us as we rashly peaked the hill was no less shocking than if I had seen fire for the first time. From every direction pillars of fire seemed to be shooting out from the darkness, briefly illuminating the forms of men and women we had always known to be our opponents, but had never the chance to face. From their very hands it seemed that every object, rock or wood, was crawling with an infestation of flames that my small gourd could never even hope to put out. Women, children and men alike wailed at their loss, in terror, in sorrow as their very way of life was reduced to mere pillars of ash._

_As a water bender, I never really understood the destruction of fire until I saw it reflecting back at me-- not from the crumbling buildings, but shining in the obsidian of Jae's eyes. There was no clearer picture, and if I ever tell this story to another I will probably never again mention the sight of the town itself burning to the ground. The gaze itself told every horror, echoed every scream that crawled from the throat of any man or woman captured, and most of all, the vicious rage the fire itself created. It was a rage I had never known was possible in any human, a lesson well learned and to be learned again by any child of the ice and snow._

_So this was war._

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"Haaaahh!!"

The loud, deep roar of her opponent's battle cry rang through Jae's ears as the thinly padded soles of her shoes dispersed dust into the air with a quick turn of her body. A single foot dragged against the ground, arms heaving the weighty, double bladed weapon made of solid rock towards the sound. It had only been a few minutes into the round, but despite that, every movement drove her screaming muscles to the brink of exhaustion. It was clear that her opponent was almost literally running circles around her for the duration of the match, and each rasped swell of her chest showed the exertions of her fetal attempts to keep up.

"Too fast…!"

Above all the egging roars that pounded through the crowd, one voice seemed to echo louder than any other. "Trip! Him! Trip him Jae-Hyung Kwan, right _now_!" It screamed desperately, as though the flail of arms could be seen just through the sound of her voice. Despite the audacity that was being forced out of this voice, those words went unheeded; the battle itself deafened her senses, honed them to hear, see and feel things within the pit that was their cage.

A nimble male figure abruptly slipped out from behind the massive wall of rock the earth bender had placed between herself and her opponent. Jae's instinctive movements simply couldn't keep up with the sheer speed of the agile fighter she was pitted against. Expecting a strike, the huge weapon was lifted as a guard, only to be used against her favor. The smaller fighter went suddenly airborne, kicking off Jae's weapon into a hard-pressed leap that pushed her backwards, the weight of her own weapon disrupting her already wavering balance.

Grounding her feet into a widened stance to catch herself before she dropped, Jae quickly looked back towards her opponent only to receive the swift, rough end of a direct turning kick to her face. A low growl erupted from her throat at the contact that sent her head reeling to one side, tousled, dark hair thrashing out with the unexpected shift. The man followed up with a fluid turn of his wrist, water following the movement as if an extension of his own body. Cracking forward, the liquid whip struck the exposed side of Jae's torso as she faltered, and she nearly cried out. It was apparent that the man had either watched her previous fight, or was observant enough to realize she had been gingerly favoring that side during the entire match.

Blood began to seep through the rough, dark-olive fabric at her side, and the man only grinned at her staggered attempt to regain balance.

"Done already?" With a quick burst forward he dashed at her again, kicking at her side before bringing the whip of water around to aim directly at the same wound once again.

The cracking sound of his whip resounded through the sudden silence of the arena.

"…Hnf." With a simple, short huff as her only response, Jae turned and stood her full height, easily towering over the shorter man. Dim green eyes searched through a curtain of unkempt, black wisps, meeting the man's gaze with an almost ominous look of her own. The huge weapon once held within a leanly muscular grip was discarded, quaking the arena floor with a thunderous pound as it smashed flatly into the solid ground, easily cracking the surface and kicking up a swirl of dust in its wake. The water bender's eyes widened at the sudden realization he had come to.

He let himself get directly into her range.

Grabbed roughly by the collar, the man received a harsh head butt to the bridge of his nose before being abruptly slammed into the wall of rock Jae had quite literally pulled out of the ground.

By the time the dust settled, the match had been completely turned around.

"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" The voice screamed again, a small body leaping up in victory despite the deadpan shock and silence of the crowd that surrounded her. Jiang-Xiu was not always the most subtle of people in the best of times, but soon enough the entire crowd was screaming and pounding the rock beneath them like animals excited by the sport of blood shed.

While the crowd continued to yell support or insult to their "favorite" or "least favorite" fighters, Xiu's own excited leaps had slowed to a shocking stop. For a moment it felt as if the world had stopped spinning in it's axis as a strange feeling rushed down her spine. Something wasn't right here. True, they were in an underground cavern in the middle of God-Knows-Where, Earth Kingdom, competing in the rather notoriously underground tournament Mountain Melee II, so things were going to seem rather off colored and ill mannered. That, Xiu knew, wasn't it.

A few people had entered the arena she hadn't seen when the tournament board had gone up... A few people who stared at this fight with intent she didn't see on the face of someone who was a mere spectator, and with each new evolution of the progressively interesting fight, they showed no sportsmanship or camaraderie like other combatants come and lost showed now.

A moment later, Jae was ripping a hunk of floor from the arena bottom, one large enough that if she threw it, there would be no avoiding its blast. That was, unless the young water bender was either very crafty or doubly lucky. The entire crowd silenced in the sudden earthquake that shook the floor beneath their feet.

In that mere second, Xiu caught sight of one of these stone faced spectators glancing at another with conversation in his eyes. The vivid color of her cool, glacier eyes hungrily hoped to decipher the language that was not spoken to no avail; it was hard to keep her attention when there was a nagging feeling biting at her that she was being watched. Her eyes skirted to the right, catching the dark gaze of a familiar young woman resting upon her. A villager from Jae's village, the same little town that Xiu herself currently took residence, one who raised a young sister no older than five. There was not a time that Xiu could recall seeing this young woman without holding the hand of her child sister, but the seat next to her was devoid of a child's form.

Upon taking a more lengthy look Xiu's heart would have stopped dead in it's beat if it were possible, the icy grip of fear curling its fingers around the helpless organ as it pumped harder to fight the feeling that washed over her. The girl had singe marks marring the ineloquent edges of her dirtied clothing, and the expression on her face was distinctly that of an animal forced into captivity.

Suddenly, with deathly precision, Xiu launched herself into the ring between Jae and her opponent, landing gracefully between them as gravity pulled a waterfall of dark brown hair tumbling down back around her shoulders. Like her hands, two braids that rested on each side of her face waved their finger-like ends through the air as if also saying that Jae should start the action she started.

"Jiang-Xiu is disqualified for interference!" Boomed the authoritative voice of the announcer.

Though most would have responded with curses, Xiu instead retaliated with five words that would fill any heart with the dread of violent flood water proportions. "The fire nation is attacking!"

In one swift motion, she had swept the rug out from beneath them. The element of surprise was no longer theirs.

It hadn't crossed Xiu's mind that her quick conclusion could have been the wrong conclusion, nor that a false accusation if it were, could possibly cause a full scale riot of literal earth quaking magnitude.

The sudden extreme heat that passed next to Xiu's back, on the other hand, seemed to tell her otherwise. All the previously non-moving bodies hurtled into action, charging into a full scale battle as every person in the room reacted in yells of surprise and disbelief. Jae herself had dropped her giant rock wall to swing her weapon in the line of fire between Xiu and the fire bender that had just attempted to silence the young water bender. It wasn't a sacrifice Jae could allow, even if Xiu thought her own injury would be pertinent to their survival. The earth bender quickly pressed her back to her young water bending companion, eyes narrowing towards Xiu's assailant as her double blade rose in defense.

The room exploded into chaos. Rocks, small close combat spurts of water, fire, all colliding in mid air as though the fires of hell were raining down from the heavens. The announcer barely had time to duck as an entire corner of the arena was hurtled towards a Fire Bender stationed behind him, whatever thoughts of disqualification violently disbanded.

From the outside of the ring four men quickly leapt up to surround the two.

Jae's foot habitually slipped across the ground once more, stance widening as the men circled them, her dark eyebrows dipping low over her eyes. "What is the Fire Nation doing at a tournament like this…?!" The confusion in her voice was almost quieted by a roaring blast of flame that was quickly ricochet off the blunt side of a giant rock-blade, the man following the flare as a cover hastily silenced by the sickening thud of his throat crumpling under the weight of Jae's clenched fist.

Xiu didn't have the mind to answer for a moment as her body responded in instinct to the Fire Bender that had taken it to heart to attack her. Though each blazing combustion barely missed her, the heat of the flame never ceased to feel uncomfortably close. She slid down to rest one palm on the ground, sliding her body against the smooth surface of the condensed earth to throw a foot beneath the Fire Benders step. He leapt into the air to avoid it, but in unison with his leap, her free hand moved upward ripping water from an open gourd to place a pressured strike against the soldiers chin.

A shout ensued, followed in suite by the clang of armor as it hit the ground; Xiu suspected the man was only momentarily immobilized and slid back into a lofty, free flowing, open legged stance, prepared for round two. "I suspect that the Fire Nation has staked this area out for a base. We are currently facing the back wall of Ba Sing Se, which probably calculated to be the must vulnerable entry point."

Briefly, her eyes trailed to locate the form of the young villager who had tipped her off without even knowing it. She suspected that she would be easy to locate once they had the time to put mind to it, but for the moment Xiu didn't mention her to Jae. Now was not the time, as her well being would serve to be nothing but a distraction to her older, earth bending companion. The Fire Nation had used her as a pawn and intended nothing else for her.

As soon as Jae had felt light pressure of Xiu's back against her own leave her, she in turn had burst forward, barely ducking under a flame-trailed kick that would have effortlessly broken her jaw if connected. A quick lunge of her shoulder sent the man backwards, but he was up and charging her again within mere seconds. Jae only offered a quick nod of understanding, but her brow quirked at the calmness of the water bender's voice despite the siege.

"What a lightweight," Xiu sighed disappointedly as she realized that the Fire Bender she had been waiting for was not getting back up again. The metal of the helmets truly followed the concept, 'the heavier they are, the harder they fall.' She hadn't much time to relax, for soon two more Fire benders had taken the place of their fallen comrades, yelling as they placed strikes against the two young women once again.

Next to them, the assigned opponent whose name still lay forked with Jae's on the tournament board fell to the floor with a vicious thud, a stream of water dripping out from beneath him as though it were his very own blood. As quickly as he had fallen, his attacker descended upon him, restraining him and dragging him off. Jae's eyes widened at the display, distracted just enough to take the force of a kick to her gut. Grunting, she unceremoniously grabbed her assailant by the ankle and practically tossed the man before he set his entire leg into a flamed attempt to release himself. She then turned to Xiu, but her confusion was quickly addressed by a voice equally calm as it had been the first time.

"... Apparently they also realized--" A narrow miss of a fiery fist that nearly blistered the skin of Xiu's cheek forced her to pause, her words elevating in pitch as she barely managed to jerk her head out of the way. Briefly her hand brushed where the heat had reddened the dark skin, but didn't linger long before it was throwing a small whip of water across the soldier's helmet, spinning it so his vision was temporarily blocked. "Apparently they also realized that this tournament would be an excellent location to capture several of the areas benders all at once."

Breathing became progressively difficult with each fiercely heated strike. The excessive amount of fire was spurting impurities in to the already poorly ventilated cave; it wouldn't be long until the Fire Nation soldiers burnt up their good air supply.

Just as Xiu was lifting a leg to place a round kick against the side of the Soldiers head, Jae slammed her weapon full force into her own opponent, launching the man like a swung log would project a pebble. The two soldiers collided, the sound of armor clanging together making more of a ruckus than the pieces of rock being ripped from the cavern floor.

The rock slide-like noise was lessening every second the battle continued; the benders were failing and in course ripping apart the foundation of the Coliseum that had been built by their own hands. Pieces of rock were now shaking loose from the ceiling above, one falling deathly close to Xiu's own body, causing her to dive desperately out of the way before it crushed her, the impact forcing the good air out of her lungs. Shakily she crawled back to her feet.

"Jae!" Xiu rasped, coughing as the heated air and smoke filled her lungs stealing the words from her lips, though she didn't need to say anything more once she managed to jerkily motion to the girl now cowering on one of the underground coliseum steps. Now they were free to act, and just as she suspected, the woman was easy to find. All the village woman could do was curl defensively within the bend of rock, covering her neck and parts of her head from the falling debris from the battle ensuing around her. Jae could see the horrified face of the young woman clearly, her own mossy eyes widening in the shock of understanding.

"Y-…Yun?" The young earth bender's jaw went slack. Stunned there for just a moment of confusion by the unanticipated appearance of the woman, Jae quickly shook from her reverie, glancing over her shoulder at Xiu. Accepting somewhat of a knowing quirk of her brow as a reply, the two suddenly sprung out in unison in the village woman's direction.

A quick and sharp gulp of air of air was all they could gather just as they had bounded off of the center stage of the arena through a blackened cloud of smoke and ash sprouted from a massive blaze that was starting below the edge. Jae forcibly pushed the air from her lungs as a thin trail of the darkened mass behind them seemed to grip at her heels and drag along until it finally dispersed just as they began to make a dash for the woman.

"Yun!"

Questions bombarded Jae's mind as they beat and thrashed their way through fire, earth and water benders alike. If it hadn't been the fire nation attacking them, it was nearly getting clipped by another bender's attack towards the aggressive men. As they neared the trembling woman, the dull hum of questions in the earth bender's head finally quieted, instead replaced by an eerie, blank silence that sent her mind spinning. Jae felt her knees just about buckle beneath her as she knelt down to the woman, finally seeing first hand that she had been burned and seemingly beaten.

Hurriedly stabbing her giant weapon into the ground to free her hands, Jae easily but gently lifted the shaken woman to rest in her well-built arms, "Yun, are you okay?! What are you doing here-…?" Jae strained to yell over the sound of a parade of shouts and shrieks, but despite the chaos, Yun's small and quivering voice rang deathly clear in her ears.

"They took my sister… Th-… The village… Diyu is…!"

Jae's face went pale, the commotion around her suddenly replaced by the dull hum of her thoughts once again.

Images of the small village of Diyu, her home, and her family surged her mind like a rockslide, much like that of the soldiers now inhabiting the domed arena. Jae's knuckles whitened as her fists clenched hard. The dark curtain of her hair concealed the emotions in her eyes, but her silence and trembling shoulders were clear enough to articulate the effect of her understanding.

Xiu knew now was not the time to sort emotions out. She didn't hear the words spoken, but she had figured out before the battle had even started what had befallen Diyu.

Jae's expression changed to that of a warrior as she felt hands fall upon her strong shoulders, preparing to attack who she assumed was her attacker. It seemed the other was just too quick, a hand striking out like the mouth of a cobra on its prey, forcefully but gently jarring the back of Jae's head. An entire body sailed over the top of her, bare knees bending to brace a landing as the body continued onward, sprinting towards the cave opening. "We have to go now! Pick her up and come on!"

The tone in the water benders muffled voice was distinctly something that it never was; panicked. Their fellow elemental benders were no longer failing-- they had failed. Any body that was not standing and not clad in Fire Nation armor was now making a retreat towards the entrance of the cave, hoping that it wasn't too late to call for help. Even those who tried to escape were falling like leaves as swarms of fire nation soldiers descended upon them like flocks of birds in a feeding ground.

Fully re-awakened by Xiu's vault over her shoulders and the quick smack to the back of her head, Jae shook herself, blinking her eyes hard before taking a long inhale of the thinning air. Yun looked up at the tall girl, still unable to read whatever emotion was displayed within her eyes, but her unvoiced questions were shushed with a short squeak of her own voice as she was suddenly hauled over a broad shoulder of the earth bender.

"I'm sorry, but you're going to have to hang on as well as you can."

With an earth-shuddering stomp of the ground, Jae exhaled in a forced huff and exploded forward after Xiu, with the young village woman over one shoulder, her other hand dragging the huge double bladed weapon of rock behind. Sparks flew back in their wake as rock scraped loudly against rock, pulling the attention of many of the fire benders, and effectively enlarging the pursuing party behind them.

Pulling in front of Xiu a ways before they reached the entrance, Jae's shoulders heaved, hurling and releasing the giant weapon forward like a javelin, busting the large rock door and frame out with a massive explosion of rubble. The smell of fresh air was blissfully welcomed. Jae's thrown weapon continued its path and thumped loudly as it stabbed into the ground outside of the arena.

Xiu ripped the small white piece of cloth that usually covered the bottom of her mouth away from it, inhaling sharply as though she had been doused and drowning in water. Ever since the wind had been knocked out of her, every breath she had taken had felt poisoned and strained within her lungs. Though she felt uncomfortable without the familiar fabric touching her lips, she felt as though it were suffocating her.

"Jae! Close the door once we've passed the entrance!" For once her voice was as crystal clear as the water she flung haplessly from her gourd onto the ground behind them. Her body stopped its motion momentarily, taking her bending stance to force the sprawled puddle of water on the floor to become a thin sheet of slick ice.

Jae quirked a perplexed eyebrow at her younger companion as she shifted Yun into a cradled grip, pausing for a moment as she waited for Xiu's sprint to catch her back up. Behind her, several armored figures slid and slammed into each other in a mock domino effect like the young water bender had hoped for.

"Won't they suffocate?! There are other benders in there, Xiu!" Jae squinted at the daylight hitting her dark-adjusted eyes abruptly as they finally tore out of the entrance.

"Exactly. They'll force the other benders to open the door, but by that point they won't be able to tail us!"

Without any other verbal reply, Jae nodded and gently laid Yun down a safe way from the entrance and made a dash back to the gaping hole in the hidden dome. Her hardened fist went flying once more, straight into and shattering the armored face of a Fire Nation soldier before grounding herself in her familiar widened stance. Fingers plowed heavily into the ground, cracking it as they dug in below her. A loud roar followed, escaping her as bullets of flame singed past her from the oncoming fire benders. From beneath her, she pulled a giant mass of rock up and over the entrance, seemingly tossing it up and extending it out of the land before beginning to seal the entirety over once more. A warm, liquid like substance was finally noted as it slipped down her side, but was quickly dismissed as she proceeded to seal the edges.

With a sharp exhale, Jae contentedly pat the dust from her hands before returning back to Xiu and Yun. The older village woman looked to Jae with worry in her eyes.

"It's going to be alright Yun, we'll get you to a doctor and go back to the village as soon as-…"

"That's not it, Jae! …Your side…" Yun's trembling voice shook her.

A gloved hand moved to the moistened warmth at her side, but realization hit only after the bloodied hand rose to meet Jae's widened gaze. The crimson liquid spilt from her mouth after a single and violent cough, forced only by the rising fluid in her throat. During the battle, it seemed the sheer rush of adrenaline had completely dulled and numbed the wound Jae had received during the tournament, and after taking even more hits during the siege, it only returned with godly retribution. She doubled over, crouching low and shutting her own mouth with a hand as every fiber of her injured side seemed to cry out.

Xiu frowned, touching the empty gourd at her side, feeling it echo against the fabric of her clothes with the hollow sound of air. More-or-less, aside from a few menial burn wounds and a few wicked scrapes from belly diving, she had made it out of this battle unscathed, but also unable to tend to Jae's injuries. "Yun, until we find some water there's nothing we can do. Jae will be fine until then."

Jae shook her head, gripping tightly at her wound before forcing herself to stand. Strong, but strained steps followed as she made her way to the large weapon protruding from the ground. She wiped the blood from her lip before painfully pulling the weapon from the ground with her free hand and hauling it over her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I guess I won't be able to carry you. Are you feeling well enough to walk?" Jae's forced, weak smile spoke numbers.

Yun covered her mouth to hide her voiced tears.

Xiu frowned noticeably, emotions more vivid when her face was left uncovered. With gentle strides she stepped in front of Jae, quickly and painfully ripping the cloth belt from Jae's upper waist to cover the wound that seeped crimson down her side. With every tightening tug and pull, Jae grunted and hissed in discomfort as pain shot blindly through the right side of her body. "That will stop the bleeding. See? She'll be fine.The village needs us, I don't think we have the luxury of tending to our wounds."

Jae nodded in agreement, a few drops of sweat falling from her forehead to be absorbed by the dusty earth; sweat of both exhaustion and pain. At the sight of the blood dripping from the corner of Jae's mouth and her very own blood laced fingers, Xiu felt her stomach knot uncomfortably as worry ravaged her insides. Jae was tough, very tough, but how much blood had she lost? Could they make it back to Diyu with enough strength to do any good for what was left of it? Even if not, Jae would go alone, even if Xiu and Yun would plead and cry. At least this way Xiu could be there to help her if something else went wrong.

The walk that usually took no more than a half an hour took them nearly double. What little running they could do was hindered in every aspect. Every few minutes Xiu was forced to stop, her tired and smoke damaged lungs screaming for rest and decent unlabored breath. In retrospect, the right side of Jae's body would occasionally rebel against her, causing her step to falter and arms fall slack.

Each of the three felt a strange mixture of dread and relief flood over them as they started to travel up the crest that was the last stretch to Diyu.

The sky was no longer the sky, but was covered by broken, rolling tendrils of grey smoke that smothered any blue from sight. It no longer seemed like day time at all, but appeared to be some sort of sick setting of the sun. The sun itself appeared to have no power, drowning low in the sky in it's own harvest blood. Ash was falling from the sky, not near as unique or beautiful as a snow flake, sticking to ground, hair and clothing all alike.

Xiu knew what was coming. It could be seen by the grim downward quirk of her lips. Even as she tugged her desert face mask back over her mouth and nose to block out the physical impurities in her air, her crystal eyes seemed gray and grim as the print of lettering marring the face of a tombstone.

Jae refused to give up hope. Diyu was filled with earth benders, albeit they didn't use their bending for fighting, they were a people that didn't surrender without a fight. Until she saw it with her own two eyes, Diyu, her family, her friends, the people she was meant to protect were just fine.

At the peak of the hill, all hopes were massacred. Yun crumpled down to her knees, harsh sobs shaking her slim form in shuddering quakes at the sight.

For a moment time froze. Jae jerked to a stop, every thought and emotion colliding into each other, none meeting ends or making enough sense to act on. Her eyes just processed the sight of flames shooting into the sky, the sound of yells, the crackling laugh of fire as it taunted her inability to protect her childhood home and the inhabitants that lay within it.

One thought finally managed to crush through the rest, forcing Jae to lurch herself into motion.

Revenge.

"Jae, no!" Xiu forced herself to rip her own eyes away from the towering flames to block the path the older earth bender was trying to travel. To this day, neither of the two girls had faced the Fire Nation personally. As nations they had always felt the enemy lurking in the distance, but never this close, never striking people they had known and cared about. Jae didn't know how to react, and rightly neither did Xiu, but her levelheadedness far exceeded any other rash plans of attack that might have came to mind.

"But I have to…!" Jae started helplessly, trying to push Xiu out of the way with little force.

"Look at me Jae!" Xiu yelled, cupping Jae's head aside her ears to yank her friends head downward to the best of her ability, forcing Jae's watery eyes to stare directly into her own. Tears streamed down in sooty streaks, falling for the family and friends she now feared for. Her whole life had just gone up in flames. Xiu's own eyes bore into hers, holding her attention, the cooling color helping to offset the fiery mess that blazed behind them. "Just look at me. We're outnumbered. If you go in there like this you could kill the villagers. It's just the town, just the buildings. The people are fine, we can still save the people, but not now. Not like this."

Jae shuddered once, dropping her gaze as her knees buckled beneath her. Xiu's hands went slack, watching with a sorrowful frown as Jae yelled and slammed her fist into the ground, cracking the earth beneath her knuckles. Suddenly all of her rage, terror, disappointment and sorrows poured out of her in a chest wrenching sob, realizing that there was nothing she could do.

Xiu dropped to her own knees, cradling Jae's head in her hands again as their foreheads touched, smoothing her hands through Jae's hair trying to calm the torrent of emotions. Jae's arms wrapped around her young companion, holding onto her, letting Xiu be the anchor that she needed.

They weren't sisters. They weren't related. A few months before they hadn't even known the other existed. Now they were all the other had.

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Well there it is folks! We'll try to get chapters out as religiously as possible. 

Comment, lots! Constructive criticism is highly welcomed


	2. Chapter 2: Licking the Burns

Sillie- Wowies, look at that! Two chapters. And we have a fanbase of like, five people! We're so frickin' awesome. . !!! Some familiar faces and names are appearing in this chapter!

eX- I had a hell of a time writing this chapter for some reason. I need to go back to drawing. D:

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Chapter 2: Licking the Burns

_I remember the nights in Diyu when I couldn't sleep. I had so many questions! So many things to ask her. It was always wondering about how difficult it was to travel around for so long, and how she managed to get by alone. I nearly turned over in my blankets to wake her up every night. I wanted to hear about the people she had met, the places she had seen. Four years of wandering was truly amazing to me. _

_Come to think of it, I hadn't once left my village. Not until she came. _

_Sure, our meeting wasn't exactly the kind I would have preferred. Duped into a tea reading and she even convinced me to take her into my home for free! When I had found out she was a water bender and put the pieces together, of course I was shocked at first, but I don't think it really bothered me. Hearing all of her stories about the world outside of my own little secluded world of Diyu was more than enough payment for me. Xiu had really brought the pace of my life up to a quicker beat. _

_Before Xiu had come, well… I wouldn't say things were all that boring at first. Walking around the village became routine for me, helping people out with refurbishing the walls of their houses or carrying large baskets of their supplies. I even built a wall around the village to keep the bandits away, not to mention took care of anyone who gave the entrance gate any trouble. I guess you could say I was somewhat of a helping hand around the village, and they even thanked me by helping my family out with food sometimes too! _

_That really became all I did with my life, the same rounds every day, the same faces around the town and the same knowing looks from some of the villagers that thought I was more of a nuisance than a help. I guess it was a little questionable when someone as young as I was could literally pull huge walls out of the ground with little effort. _

_The daily rounds were becoming a little dull and sometimes tedious, but everything changed once I saw that unfamiliar face in the middle of the square. Well, I guess I shouldn't say face, since half of it was completely hidden by cloth! And Xiu says she doesn't look conspicuous! She had set up a little both labeled "Tea Readings," and just listening to the satisfied people of the village's reaction was really enough to get me curious. She must have thought I was a boy at first, because once the village trouble making kids tried to smooth-talk her, she came over and clung to my arm! _

"_Don't worry honey! I would never let any of these young men come in between us. I know how horribly jealous you are... I'd really hate to see you do what you did to the last boy... I wonder if he lived after having that much of his skull cracked off...?"_

_I honestly didn't know what to think, let alone remember what happened after that! I must have blanked out. Sure, I was pretty tall for my age standing at 5'11" and I guess I don't really have a chest to speak of… But a boy!?_

_A…anyway, the troublemakers ran off and Xiu offered to give me one free tea reading in return for the trouble. _

…_Another big mistake at the time. At the end of every day I would come to her booth after my rounds for a reading. I was hopelessly addicted to them! All up until she told me about my so called destiny._

_"Ooh, you must provide a great service to someone in need..."_

_Little did I know that it would be a much greater service than I would have ever imagined! But I won't complain. Xiu became the one stone that shattered the ordinary mass that my life had become, and pieced it back together with her own spontaneous swirl._

_At first it was strange, having someone my age around to talk to, but it was an enjoyable experience. Xiu even sparred with me, and helped me find a few new perks in my bending style! Once she told me she had left the Northern Water Tribe and traveled around a good length of the Earth Kingdom, I couldn't help but pile the questions high! _

_I remember one night that I couldn't sleep, and I finally had the courage to wake her up. It seemed she was pretty angry with me, since I could practically feel there was agitation coming from the pile of blankets that was her. She had just fallen asleep after a full night of training, after all. I asked her again to share some of her stories with me. _

"_I'll just take you out there so you can see it for yourself, alright?" I thought that she just blurted it out because it was near the middle of the night and she just wanted to go back to sleep._

_I never thought she really meant it._

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_

"What is it Gao?"

The taller man bowed his head, his hand at the waist of his noble Earth Kingdom robes in respect before any conversation started, glancing around warily to ensure the dark, rock clad room was indeed, empty and devoid of listeners. Nothing lie within it except a few ornate tapestries decorating the bland walls and two dimly lit lanterns, casting their silhouettes across the floor. "Good evening Princess Azula."

"I didn't come here to listen to pointless drabble," the young woman countered, a set of smoldering amber eyes resting on the older man. She couldn't have been any older than sixteen years, a beautiful yet hauntingly dangerous face turned youthfully with lovely pink lips twisted into a wicked smirk. With every movement of her head, soft black bangs swayed and returned to frame her face. "Do you have news?"

"I've just returned from checking on the troops collecting at the eastern wall," Gao finally stated, discomfort obvious in his voice. It hadn't been more than a few days since their leader Long Feng had been called a traitor to the Earth Kingdom and was thrown into confinement. From his cell he had ordered that the Dai Li should report to Princess Azula in the meantime. "Most of the benders have been apprehended. At least, the known ones that attended their underground competition."

"Most?" Azula's amber eyes narrowed, the question cutting into Gao like a knife through flesh.

Gao swallowed harshly, but kept any signs of fear from his face. He had hoped the young Fire Nation princess would have let that small, seemingly minuscule word go unnoticed. That was a mistake of a man who had not known the meticulous military prodigy for long enough. "... Two benders escaped. An earth bender and a water bender."

"A water bender?" Her almost childish voice echoed question, as though she were just merely curious on the fact, but he could tell that the mind behind those eyes was working in full force. They had one common enemy that tended to get in the way of plans on a constant basis, a proverbial thorn in the side, one that traveled with the only water bender they had encountered in the Earth Kingdom outside of the untouched Foggy Swamp Tribe. There was rumors that there was a group of South Pole rebels making entrance to Ba Sing Sei through the canal difficult, but the eastern wall was too far away to associate the two incidents.

"She's not with the Avatar."

A scowl carefully creased her rather lovely facial features into a disapproving frown. The Avatar and his group were at least expected to cause them trouble, but two unknown benders? "Well, then please explain to me how two benders escaped an entire platoon of fire nation soldiers."

"From what I was told, the water bender and earth bender were together. The earth bender had enormous strength; she shut the cave door on her own. It took some 'persuasion' of the captured benders to get it open again, and even then it took four prisoners to lift the door." There was no hint of exaggeration in his voice; he knew at least that Azula would take any type of hyperbole as cowardice, and that would not be tolerated. "They took out four of your soldiers on their own. The water bender is reputably very quick and had a bending style not seen before. The earth bender carried a giant weapon made completely out of packed rock."

"Interesting... Can the Dai Li replicate this?"

Gao stared at her for a moment, trying to find a delicate way to phrase his answer. Unfortunately, despite that the princess was dressed deceivingly in the clothes of an Earth Kingdom native, a nation of patience and endurance, she was not particularly patient with her subjects. "Well?"

"Not yet, princess. I assure you we will figure it out in time."

"I see." He braced himself for whatever wicked retaliation Azula might have been ready to express, lifting his face in surprise as he heard Azula make a soft sound of thought "Get me Xi-Wang. I have a job for him."

----------------_  
_

_Juma,_

_There's been an unexpected change of plans. Any letters that you sent prior to this one won't be received; something happened in Diyu. I fear to speak about it just in case this letter is intercepted, but I dearly hope the North Pole is ready in case the same fate might fall upon it soon. It's only a matter of time before the war reaches you as well._

_I'm not sure where we're going as of yet, but as soon as I find out I'll send you another letter. I pray it gets to you. I've been hearing that the waters have gotten more treacherous with the increase in Fire Nation surveillance, but somehow someone always manages to get my letters to you._

_I miss you. I hope to be able to come home soon. Tell mother and father I'm safe, and for Hahn to stay on his toes. Be careful, okay?_

_Love, _

_Jiang-Xiu_

She frowned a little at the short block of letters dancing across the page in the dim light of the sun streaming through the air hole. Their letters tended to be lengthy and full of much news because of the gaps in between, but for this letter there just wasn't enough time to bear her heart and soul. She only had one piece of paper as well, and barely enough ink to write what she already had. The strokes were getting dry, each line breaking off into tiny spindles leading off into words unsaid with each continuing character.

They had been forced to leave with nothing but the clothes on their backs, after all.

Two weeks had passed since the destruction of Diyu, and though it seemed like a short time in turn, to the two comrades it felt like a lifetime. Since the first night they had both gotten the distinct feeling they were being followed, and every night since then the feeling could not be lost.

Xiu had been dragging Jae across the Earth Kingdom in sporadic patterns, moving south in attempt to lose their assumed pursuer while managing to avoid Si Wong desert all together. Though they had been fortunate in finding a few small towns with food and people to pick pocket, they didn't have the supplies to risk that travel. They barely skirted the western side and were now settled in a small cave along the mountains on the way to Omashu, protected by the wall of rock Jae had pulled over the open mouth of the cave. There was a small gap for air, but it wasn't large enough for anything but that and small animals to slip through.

Her eyes darted over the letter one more time, reading the invisible characters that not even Juma would see.

"Writing to Juma?"

Xiu jumped a little at the sleepy voice. She hadn't expected Jae to be up for a while longer especially with the wound on her side still causing her pains. Low and behold the larger form was still lying almost motionless on the floor of the cave, her black hair sticking up in several directions it hadn't been going the night before. "Yeah, you want to say something? I have a little ink left."

Jae smiled a little knowingly. Since she had met Xiu she had sent and received more letters than Jae had ever done in her entire lifetime, so naturally she had questioned it one night out of curiosity. Xiu had willingly admitted that she was writing home to her childhood sweetheart, and that his name was Juma. Though Jae had never heard Xiu directly say so, she suspected that she still had strong feelings for her "childhood" friend by how often she spoke of him.

She nearly chuckled as she spoke, shuffling up to sit. "Tell him I'll keep that tiny butt yours safe, so he doesn't have to worry-..." The teasing words trailed off as Jae's head slowly redirected to the side, her expression darkening as she slipped a gloved hand to her injured side. It had only been a couple of weeks since she had let Diyu slip through her fingers, and her already battered confidence in protecting someone had been wounded just as bad, if not more mortally then her body.

Xiu's brow quirked slightly, the cloth over her mouth concealing a hesitant bite of her lip as if she had read Jae's features and mannerisms with a painful ease. A single hand came up to adjust the covering before she picked up the ink once again, marking the script down on the paper.

Despite the hesitation, her words came strong and focused as she wrote. "So, I was thinking we could head towards this town. I hear it hasn't been touched yet... I think it might be a good place to settle down for a while."

Regardless of the words, Xiu really had no intention of 'settling down.' The urgency of losing Diyu pushed her to return to the Northern Water Tribe as if to check on them, and their pursuers only aided against that, but to her earth bending companion, losing Diyu was obviously a painful experience. It only made sense to want to rest and let the raking feelings ease down, especially after such trauma, including the worry of what the Fire Nation could be doing with her family.

Though strong, Jae could almost sense the underlying uncertainty betraying the young water bender's voice. Her head dipped even lower as Xiu continued.

"We need to get on the move again today. If we take this route, we could get there in a few days and-…"

"Xiu, no." There was a strange but newfound assurance backing Jae's voice as she interrupted. "I meant what I said and I plan on keeping my word to Juma too." It was one thing to let Diyu slip through her fingers, but there wasn't anything that could be done about the past anymore. She knew she couldn't save the people of Diyu in her current state either. Now was the time to focus, to get stronger so that she could never let it happen again. To never let anyone she cared about down. Xiu now was all she had left, and she'd make damn sure she'd protect her. Jae's tightly clenched fists slowly loosened as she turned to her younger friend, a genuine, but weak smile pulling at her lips. "Besides… You said you'd take me with you to see the world. I'm going to hold you to that."

"I did… " Xiu was clearly shocked by the response she had gotten to her suggestion, her eyes reflecting the emotion the rest of her face could not. Her features relaxed as she lowered her eyes, brushing her fingers over the ink to make sure it had dried before she folded it and tucked it away. "This isn't going to be easy, Jae. I've sugar coated it in my stories, but there are some nights where we'll be without food, without water and with no where to stay."

"I know."

"You're sure?" One last chance. In all honesty, Xiu was not all too thrilled with the thought that she might not see Jae again after the next few days. She had become as good as a blood sister to her and was much better of a sibling than she could claim to have at home in the North Pole.

"I'm sure. You're not getting rid of me." Jae smiled a little wider this time. "Plus, how am I supposed to get better at bending without practice? I've done more bending since I've met you than I've done in years."

"We both need to find masters," Xiu sighed finally. "Back there… at Melee. That was luck that I think we're out of. I thought there might be some hiding around in the Earth Kingdom but so far there's been nothing promising. I think it's time I headed to the South Pole."

Jae nodded her head slowly, stretching her arms above her head with a quiet yawn.

"There's no rock there though, Jae, and definitely no Earth benders to teach you. Are you absolutely _sure_ you want to come?"

"Yes I'm _sure_," Jae emphasized back."I don't think I'll be finding a master any time soonanyway. Plus, I don't think I can leave you alone in good conscience anymore, not after seeing how much trouble you get yourself into."

Xiu leapt to her feet, pointing an accusing finger at Jae. "Nyah, half of it is your fault!"

"What!?" Jae exclaimed in mock outrage. "I never got in trouble before I met you!

"Oh sure! I heard the pot story—"

"Shh." Jae stated suddenly, touching her hand to the ground as Xiu allowed herself to fall silent. Jae closed her eyes, letting the sensitivity of her hands sense the vibrations through the ground she often bended. "Someone's earth bending near by. They're moving the rockslides. Xiu, are you sure we shouldn't just confront these guys?"

Whatever playful attitude Xiu had softened a little bit at the news. "You said you felt two distinctively separate benders yesterday, right?" She waited for Jae to nod her answer, making sure she clearly understood all of the facts before she continued on. Gently she placed one hand on her hip, the other leant a hand towards her face to let her tap her cheek as she thought out loud. "Right. Two benders of undetermined power, friend or foe still unknown. On the other hand there are two of us, but my gourd is nearly empty again. We're at a severe disadvantage until we reach a large body of water; right now it would be just like two against one."

"They're getting closer." Jae murmured quietly. She could feel the distinct shifting of the rocks that her own hands had placed behind them as an obstacle once they suspected they were being followed. Shifting again, she rubbed the remaining feelings of sleep from her eyes before standing to her full height and motioning towards the cave entrance. "If we want to avoid them we really should go now."

Fingers dug into the solid rock, cracking the hardened surface at each punctured hole. With one heaving motion, Jae had pushed the erected wall back into the ground, letting the brightness of the morning in.

Xiu squinted slightly at the sudden intrusion of light, but quickly stepped out of the cave with a contemplative look in her eyes. A number of routes began to play through her head, and with a quick sleight of hand, plucked a long wooden stick that had been resting against a stone. She realized that the many hours she spent studying Earth Kingdom territory maps were definitely paying off as she dragged the tip of the makeshift brush across the dirt. Traveling gave her a general geographical idea of where everything in the Kingdom was, but it was the maps she studied that gave her the knowledge of everything she hadn't traveled through personally.

"What are you doing?" Jae's eyes strained to adjust to the light as she stepped out of the cave, her giant weapon in hand and free hand cupping her wounded side. Her head dipped to look down to the drawing of a map Xiu had started.

"…If we're going to deal with whoever's following us we need to find an area where we have the max advantage."

The marks Xiu made at first made little sense to the earth bender, but the tip continued its path with a proficient precision, and the image began to clear.

"First, we can try to lose them one last time. If we take this pass here…" A quick prod to what looked to be a mountain range slid into another path towards a landmark. "They may think we went around to Omashu, which is here. That'd be the logical route anyway."

Jae nodded slowly, watching the map come to life with each stroke.

"If they do follow us, they'll follow us directly into the swamp, where there is both water _and_ rock, putting us at the advantage to attack." The wooden stick careened off the mountain range and swirled to mark a circle around a small area near the ocean.

Satisfied, Xiu finally looked up from the map she had drawn in the dirt, released the stick and proceeded to completely demolish the drawing with her hands. Standing again, she pat Jae on the shoulder with a dusted tap, a barely-there grin concealed beneath the cloth over her face.

"We're going to need to hurry if we want to get enough leeway to set up traps and redirections again. You _sure_ you're up to this…?" Her azure eyes gazed intently into Jae's own. She couldn't help but ask again, though by now she was almost sure of the answer she'd receive.

Jae nodded firmly, releasing her side as her eyebrows dipped low. There was a slight smirk of confidence playing at her lips. "Of course."

With a mirrored nod as her reply, Xiu lowered her hands and turned in the direction of the mountain range.

"Let's get out of here."

* * *

There you go! Our two.. heroes...? . Okay, the two girls getting a little rest and relaxation (sort of) before we hop back into the action. Expect exciting things to come next chapter. Please comment! We're always looking to hear constructive criticisms and praise! 


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